


Baeksoo: City AU

by Practicemakesperfect



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BaekDo - Freeform, College freshman Baekhyun, Comfort/Angst, DoBaek, High school senior Kyungsoo, M/M, baeksoo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-19 07:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19970524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Practicemakesperfect/pseuds/Practicemakesperfect
Summary: Baeksoo: City AU. Where Baekhyun is one year older than Kyungsoo and a college student.Chapter 1: HomeOne lively night in the city that never sleeps, Baekhyun calls Kyungsoo and wishes for home.Chapter 2: WaitIn his first winter as a college student, Baekhyun tells Kyungsoo how he feels.





	1. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One lively night in the city that never sleeps, Baekhyun calls Kyungsoo and wishes for home.

The nights are loud in the city, lively in a way that a suburban area could never understand. A bustle of cars and people, of shops and restaurants, clusters of lives overlapping in a shared home. Baekhyun loves the city life, and all of its excitement, has loved it since he moved a couple of months ago. But there’s always that part of him that misses his life back home in the calmer suburbia, with the people he loved.

They told him to call when he left. College is one of the great dividers of relationships, and Baekhyun’s experience was no exception. People changed, people left, people lost contact. Baekhyun is so unsure of the people he once knew that he busies himself meeting new people, trying to tell himself that it’s the same. But it isn’t.

It’s times like these that Baekhyun craves a familiar face. He looks out the window of his apartment to the streets, where the lights haven’t died down. He loves it, but sometimes it can get tiring. Silence is a gift he doesn’t get a lot nowadays.

Baekhyun taps his fingers on his phone, debating on whether or not to call. It’s late; he will be sleeping. Baekhyun doesn’t want to be selfish and take away time to rest, especially when he’s been working so hard lately. But Baekhyun is so homesick. And, if he’ll admit it, he’s lonely. It’s hard when no one knows who you are. Or knows who you were, as rosy of an idea as that is. Baekhyun wants familiarity.

Mind made up, Baekhyun picks up his phone to video call. The number dials for a moment before Kyungsoo’s face dimly makes its appearance on the screen and Kyungsoo’s voice, sleepy and hoarse, says, “Baekhyun?”

“Hey, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun’s smile might be sad, or something, his voice is soft. “I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s alright. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” This is pathetic, Baekhyun thinks, how he’s spent all this time in this city alone and now hearing Kyungsoo’s voice is what makes the reality all come crashing into him. He wants to cry, wants to go home. 

“You don’t sound okay.”

Baekhyun laughs. Leave it to Kyungsoo to be so perceptive all the damn time. “What do I sound like, then?”

“Hm.” There’s a rustle, and Kyungsoo sits up. “Is this a trick question?”

“I’m just curious.”

Kyungsoo thinks about it for a moment. “You sound sad.” Pause. “Are you sad?”

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun looks out the window again. The lights reflect in his eyes. “I’m just home sick, I guess.”

“That’s a normal thing to feel. You had to go away for college, so…”

“I hope you don’t go far away. Or, at least, come to my school and stay with me. Then we could be home sick together.”

Now it’s Kyungsoo’s turn to laugh, albeit with a little less energy. “That sounds like a great time.”

“Doesn’t it?” The two fall silent for a moment, and Baekhyun likes to think they’re both listening to the sound of the city, together. 

After a moment, Kyungsoo says, “Baekhyun, I’m sleepy.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry for waking you up. You can go.”

“No,” Kyungsoo says, and Baekhyun wonders if he’s imagining it; it feels like he said it too quickly. “No, I want to stay. Just keep me on call. You can hang up… whenever.”

Baekhyun nods silently as he watches Kyungsoo settle back into bed, the phone switching to audio only. Like this, he can hear Kyungsoo’s breathing over the sound of everything else. It’s soothing. Baekhyun closes his eyes and listens for a moment, his chest aching. Bittersweet. He’ll never admit it, but he misses Kyungsoo the most. He doesn’t even have the right to think things like this, but he wishes he were there with him. Lying next to him, holding him, back home where people know his name. It’s a fantasy, not an unfamiliar one. He wonders if he would ever have the courage to even tell Kyungsoo how he feels. It’s unlikely.

It’s a while before Kyungsoo’s breathing slows. He’s fallen asleep. Baekhyun wants to freeze this moment and live in it forever. But he’s tired, too. So he hangs up, the ache duller now, a quiet “thank you” on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What do I do? Without you, my heart has no home. Things might seem hard, but I'll always be here. Cause I'm your home, a place you can come to... I'm the place you can come to, you're the place I can go to."
> 
> So, Seventeen's "Home" didn't inspire the piece, but towards the end I realized the similarity in idea. Also, the vibe reminds me of the city. Brilliant, full of lights, but also in a strange way kind of lonely. You're surrounded by hundreds of people, but the feeling is still there.
> 
> Anyway. Eek the angsty stuff is persisting smh. At first the idea was to have them actually dating, and have Kyungsoo be the reasonable one who's calm and there, but I decided to keep the atmosphere a little more somber.
> 
> What I like about choosing to keep them not-dating is how their dynamic shifts. Kyungsoo wants to help, but can only do so much before he crosses the line (and he doesn't know where that line is,) and Baekhyun craves time with Kyungsoo but is afraid to ask, thinking it would be selfish to take from him. Ultimately, I like the idea of what they choose not to say. 
> 
> Let me know if you guys want more from this universe... I don't know why I really like this one, but I'm kind of wanting to do a meet-up scene, and a confession scene. Or maybe one scene with both those elements. It should be noted that this universe will tend towards my more angst-atmosphere writing, unless my mind suddenly flips the switch somehow. We'll see lol. Let me know if that's not the cup of tea. Sorry for the seriousness again guys ;-; Until next time :)


	2. Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his first winter as a college student, Baekhyun tells Kyungsoo how he feels.

It’s Winter Break when Baekhyun is able to come home, and everything is as he remembers it, except that now snow covers the ground where there used to be flowers. He thought things would be different, with all the months he’d spent away, but instead it seems like time has frozen in place here, like Baekhyun has taken a step into the past for a while. He isn’t sure if it’s comforting or unsettling.

What he hates the most is having to unpack. It’s slow, especially since he gets distracted just sitting around remembering things. Although everything is in its place, Baekhyun feels strange, somehow. Like now he doesn’t belong in this old room in this old house of memories.

He catches up with his parents, then spends an abnormal amount of time in his room, lying on the bed and sleeping. It’s what he’s doing when suddenly he wakes to the sound of his phone.

“Hello?”

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo’s voice comes clearly into his ear, and Baekhyun is instantly more alert. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back already?”

“Oh.” He doesn’t have a good answer to that, because the true one is one he can’t say. He can’t just say, _it was easier._

When Baekhyun doesn’t say any more, Kyungsoo says, “Okay, forget it. Whatever, I guess I’ll see you in an hour.”

“...for what?”

“Dinner. My parents are inviting you, so come.” Baekhyun isn’t sure why that sounds like it has a hidden message of contempt, but he can’t ask Kyungsoo about it because Kyungsoo has already hung up.

Dinner at Kyungsoo’s house, as usual. Baekhyun is both thankful and nervous. It’s easier not to meet Kyungsoo. It’s easier not to talk to him. It’s easier not to see him. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe he can wait off the ache he feels, if it’s long enough. Or maybe that’s just him being optimistic. Regardless, Baekhyun gets up. If he’s going to see Kyungsoo again, he’s going to make sure he’s at least vaguely presentable.

Kyungsoo’s house isn’t far from Baekhyun’s. Down the street, two left turns, and it’s the second house to the right. Baekhyun knows the way by heart. He parks in the driveway and goes to the door where Kyungsoo’s parents greet him and tell him the food is almost ready, he can wait with Kyungsoo in his room.

“I’ll see him later,” Baekhyun says. “Can I help?”

And that’s how he prolongs their reunion to the last second possible, all the way up to when Kyungsoo comes down at his parent’s call and settles at the table. They meet eyes, and Baekhyun finds a tiredness there.

“Welcome back,” Kyungsoo says, but his voice is missing its usual warmth. 

Baekhyun frowns. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo answers. _You don’t sound okay._ It’s not in his place to say.

During dinner, Baekhyun talks to Kyungsoo’s parents about college, how it’s like to live in New York, and all of the other things they’re curious about. He loves Kyungsoo’s parents just as much as he loves his own; they’re family to him. It would be a comforting thing, to be here with them, if it weren’t for Kyungsoo’s silence.

“So what’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo as they’re cleaning up. Kyungsoo’s parents are upstairs.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Kyungsoo. Something is obviously bothering you.”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo’s voice is bitter. “So, what?”

“Well…”

“So you want me to tell you, like how you told me you were coming back this week.”

“Is that what this is about?” Baekhyun puts down the dish he was drying and turns to look at him. Kyungsoo’s face is stiff, eyes downcast as he covers the food to put in the refrigerator. He refuses to meet Baekhyun’s gaze. “I’m sorry, it just didn’t cross my mind--”

“Great, so your best friend of however many years didn’t cross your mind the whole time that you were packing to go home, or on the train, or, you know, _here.”_

Shit. He fucked up. For a moment he flounders, trying to figure out what to say. “Look, I’m sorry. I was just under a lot of stress and I didn’t think to contact anyone about it. You know how I am--”

“Do I? I didn’t think you’d be the kind of person to never call or text after you left. And the Baekhyun I thought I knew told me when things were bothering him. But I guess you just grew up now that you’re in college. Because you sure as hell aren’t acting like how I ‘know you are.’”

“Okay, well maybe I just didn’t want to bother you,” Baekhyun says, and his voice is rising. “You’re always so busy and you’re always telling me how you’re trying to keep your GPA up and whatever and I can’t just bother you with my bullshit. It’s not like…” He trails off, suddenly realizing he doesn’t want to go down that road. _It’s not like we’re dating._ It’s not like Baekhyun can just bother Kyungsoo whenever he wants.

Kyungsoo scoffs. “That’s such bullshit. I told you before you left to call whenever you want. And texting is supposed to be for busy people. But ever since you called me I haven’t heard from you at all. And then you come back home and don’t even tell me anything, even though you know I’m on winter vacation too. How does that make any sense?” 

He goes to the refrigerator and puts the dishes away, pausing before he closes the door again. “You can’t even make up a good excuse.” And then the anger falls from his voice, and it’s just Kyungsoo again, tired. “I’m sorry if I crossed the line on that call. And I get it if you don’t want to be friends anymore, for that or because you found college friends and I’m just a burden. But at least have the decency to tell me that so I don’t spend every day of my life waiting for you to call.”

Baekhyun’s mind draws a blank on anything he was about to say when he hears Kyungsoo’s last sentence, and he almost lets Kyungsoo walk away. But then he sees Kyungsoo’s face as he’s turning to leave and he steps forward and grabs his arm.

“Kyungsoo…”

“What?” Kyungsoo isn’t looking at him. His face is purposefully turned towards the door, so Baekhyun can’t see his expression. But his voice gives him away. “What bullshit are you going to tell me this time?”

“I…” Baekhyun swallows. “I was scared. I didn’t want to call you that time either, and it was mostly because I didn’t want to bother you but also because… it’s easier.”

Kyungsoo laughs, a cynical sound. “Okay, so you left me because it’s convenient.”

“You never reached out, either,” Baekhyun shoots back. He’s stressed now, the confession was on the tip of his tongue, but Kyungsoo is making it so damn hard. He wouldn’t get it, anyway. It would be a bad idea to say anything.

Kyungsoo is silent for a moment. Then he says, “why were you scared?”

Now it’s Baekhyun’s turn to look away, and as he does he sees Kyungsoo turn back. His eyes are watery--he always cries out of frustration, or anger--but now none of those emotions are present. Dark eyes examine Baekhyun’s face. 

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun says. “I can’t tell you that.”

“...will you ever tell me anything?” Baekhyun meets Kyungsoo’s gaze. For a long moment, the two regard each other, neither willing to break the silence. But Kyungsoo was always better at this game.

“I like you,” Baekhyun says. Kyungsoo’s expression doesn’t change, and his heart sinks. The sensation has him continue, against his better judgement: “I’ve liked you for a long time. And I didn’t want to say anything because I was scared, and when I went to college I felt like that was it. And honestly, you don’t like me like that, and it hurts, and it’s scary because sometimes you make me think you do. And it was making me anxious and stressed and yeah I tell you everything but I can’t tell you about you. So I decided if I wait long enough maybe I’ll stop liking you and everything can go back to normal. But I haven’t and it hasn’t and it’s a suckish excuse but it’s the truth. I like you and that’s why I avoided you.”

Kyungsoo is silent. Baekhyun closes his eyes. “‘I don’t like you,’” he says. Baekhyun swallows. 

“I know. I’m sorry I’m ruining every--”

Kyungsoo shoves him, hard. Baekhyun’s eyes open to see Kyungsoo hugging himself, a tint of red pulling at his cheeks. “Who told you to decide that on your own, idiot?” Kyungsoo looks to the side, avoids Baekhyun’s look of shock. “Who tells someone to stay on a call when they’re going to go to sleep if they don’t like them? And why would I get so upset about you not telling me you're back if I didn’t like you? Are you really that stupid?”

“I…”

“I can’t believe you would do that to me.” Kyungsoo’s eyes pool again. He’s seething with frustration. “I waited everyday and all this time I thought you just didn’t want to be friends anymore. And instead…”

Baekhyun reaches out and tugs at Kyungsoo to pull him in, and Kyungsoo shakes his head furiously and tries to back away. “No, fuck off Baekhyun. Asshole. Jerk.” Kyungsoo hits Baekhyun half-heartedly on his chest, accenting every word. And then a tear spills over and Baekhyun is holding him, and Kyungsoo isn't struggling anymore. “I’m so mad,” Kyungsoo sobs. 

“I know.” 

“You’re such a jerk.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kyungsoo buries his head into Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I like you,” he whispers.

Baekhyun closes his eyes and lets the words wash over him. They're warm. “I like you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What are you thinking now? Personally, I think about you. My world is completely filled with you. Don't be too late, promise me. So I don't accidentally miss you on my way... Now all I do is wait."
> 
> I love this song. "Wait," by none other than EXO. Those lyrics are Baekhyun and Kyungsoo's parts, and I think they fit the idea of this universe well.
> 
> Honestly, I didn't aim to have them confess in this fic, but I like to let the dialogue play itself out like in real life, and without forcing it anywhere it kind of collapsed into that. This may be the end of this universe, unless I decide to add a bit of fluff elements to it (fluff with the serious writing style, which will be strange lol.) I do have an idea or two along this universe, so we'll see.


End file.
